Under the Starry Sky of Sherwood
by Athenais Penelope Clemence
Summary: Marian meets with Robin Hood in the woods after the siege of Nottingham, and love blossoms in the greenwood under the starry night sky of Sherwood. The action takes place after the episode 2x10 ("Walkabout").
_This is a long one-shot about Robin Hood and Marian of Knighton. The action takes place set after the episode 2x10 ("Walkabout")._

 _Marian meets with Robin Hood in the woods after the siege of Nottingham, and love blossoms in the greenwood under the starry night sky of Sherwood._

 _Undoubtedly and unfortunately, I don't own the characters and the show._

 _I hope you will enjoy the story._

 _Any reviews are appreciated. Constructive criticism is always welcome._

* * *

 **Under the Starry Sky of Sherwood**

As the sun had sunk below the horizon and the last glimmer of sunlight had faded, darkness descended upon Nottingham and Sherwood Forest, like a shroud over the world. The summer night was calm and perfectly still, and a full moon was bathing a small clearing in a shimmering silvery light. The sky was an endless midnight blue and was full of stars that looked like glistening diamonds in front of a black satin cloth. The weather was hot and humid, the air was fresh and clean, and there was no breeze in the woods under the dense canopy of trees, beneath which Robin and Marian stood.

Robin swept Marian into a cocoon of warmth in his strong arms, his mouth coming down lovingly on hers. He kissed her soundly, and, slowly releasing her, he uttered in a velvety voice, "My dearest Marian, I haven't wanted to leave you in Nottingham when I delivered the sheriff there."

Marian smiled heartily, and warmth flooded her eyes. "My dearest Robin," she purred, slightly dizzy from his kiss. "I don't want to be parted from you just as much as you don't want to lose me. I could never go on a living if you died and I was left alone in the world."

His eyes shone with hope as he inquired, "Will you come to live in Sherwood?"

She slowly shook his head. "You know that it is better for us to have me stay in the castle."

"Once you told me the same." He let out a heavy sigh of resignation. "You don't need to explain again why you prefer living in Nottingham over joining my gang and me in the woods."

Robin released her from his hold and stepped back, his expression grave despite his attempt to maintain a cheerful demeanor. Patches of the moonlight leaked through the trees and scattered silver shadows on the green grass. In the silver-colored beauty of the forest, everything seemed to be coated in a thick veil of sadness adorned with silver lace shimmering like silver threads of pain that was stabbing through Robin's heart at the thought that his beloved wouldn't stay with him in the woods. He stood under a tall oak motionless, like an ancient statue in the luster of the moon.

Marian sighed heavily, and a sharp arrow of guilt penetrated deep into her spirit. A saddened Robin, who stood in the faint stream of moonlight, looked so vulnerable and so young that all she wanted was to take him in her embrace and never let him go.

She took a step to him and opened her arms for him. "Come to me," she invited.

A large grin flourished on his face. "Gladly!"

Robin was near her in one stride. He scooped her up, and his arms wound tightly around her waist, lifting her off her feet and then in the air. He spun around, holding her up very easily and laughing, his contagious laughter ringing all around and reverberating off of the trees, echoing through the forest. Marian joined him in his laugh, the sound of her melodic laughter mingling with that of his.

When he placed her on her feet, Marian came to wind her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. "My darling, we will be together soon. You yourself said that once Lardner reaches the king and he receives your message, he will make peace with Saladin and return to England."

He nodded at her, smiling at her with an impish smile. Truth be told, he wasn't sure that the king would come back very soon, but he didn't want to talk about that now. "Yes, of course."

Robin disentangled himself from their embrace and stepped back, his eyes scanning his betrothed. Mesmerized, he stared at her face, a shaft of moonlight gilding her incredibly lovely features as if with silver dust, making her long, dark lashes appear darker and her full, sultry mouth more kissable. God's blood, he loved her so deeply and wanted her so desperately! Moreover, he hadn't been with a woman for a long time, since his return from the Crusade, when he had learned that she was still unmarried. Fantasies formed and unfolded in his head; heat stirred in his loins, and he hurriedly glanced away.

"Robin?" a dumbfounded Marian asked.

He looked back at her. "My love, tell me what happened in Nottingham after my departure."

Marian and Robin settled on a nearby log, and she began to tell him about the events in the castle – the sheriff's angry outburst in the aftermath of Robin's escape with the Pact of Nottingham and Guy's new failure to capture the legendary leader of the merry men. Robin was listening halfheartedly, for he was busy trying to maintain his self-control, although desire, sweet like honey and hot like his own blood, was welling up inside of him, stronger than ever before in her presence.

When Marian mentioned Gisborne's marriage proposal, Robin tensed and refocused his attention on her with a snarl. "This damned murderer dared propose to you! He attempted regicide, tried to kill me in the Saracen attack, and stole my lands and title after my return! He has been terrorizing and killing my people for years! And now he is trying to marry you under the pretense of loving you while, in reality, he wants you because he knows about our past!" He raised his voice, his eyes glistening with anger. "This wretched traitor should never do this again because, otherwise, I will just kill him! I won't spare his worthless life if he continues to woo you!"

"Oh, you are doing this again," she commented more for herself than for him, as if she had known all along that something would embitter her moment of happiness.

He narrowed his eyes to slits as a tide of anger passed through him. "Oh, I am not allowed to say that he deserves death and that his life is worthless! And he is allowed to woo my betrothed!"

The moonlight created dancing flashes of light in her sapphire blue eyes. "Robin, why are you so angry? He offered me to marry him today so that I could escape with him from the town. He wished to save me from death, and it was noble of him to do this."

"Gisborne wanted you for himself! He intended to take advantage of you in a dangerous situation in order to marry you, feigning his desire to save you! He wants you because your pure heart will supposedly _wash away his sins_!" He shook his head in disbelief, failing to comprehend why Guy had such absurd understanding of redemption. "He is a selfish and immoral bastard!"

She couldn't deny that during the siege, Guy had been possessed by the selfish obsession to seize his chance and marry her, but she couldn't help but see his action as a noble one as well. "There is much truth in what you say, Robin. But I assure you that Guy was really worried about my safety."

"And what did you answer?" he demanded.

Marian rolled her eyes in irritation and looked away, staring into the dark woodland. Robin was jealous of her to Guy of Gisborne! Even after their betrothal, he was still jealous! She could have understood him and could have explained his jealousy immediately after his return from the Crusade and especially during her forced betrothal to Guy, but not now… She wondered whether all men were jealous and doubted the feelings of their loved ones even when they had no reason for jealousy. Was Robin feeling so insecure with her? Was he fearful that she might betray him with Gisborne?

She didn't love Gisborne, and she never wanted to marry Vaisey's dark and brooding henchman. He had coerced her into engagement, and she had tried to reconcile to the dreadful and torturous thought of being his wife. A mortal fear had seized her every time when she had imagined her wedding night with Guy, not with _her Robin, the man she truly loved._ A feeling of disgust and revulsion filled her entire being at the thought that someone would touch her intimately and take her maidenhead – someone other than Robin. She couldn't imagine herself bearing anyone's children, except for Robin's. For these reasons, Marian had suffered a hellish experience of being Guy's bride.

Marian couldn't deny that Guy was a handsome and powerful man, although his status was highly dependable on the king's return. Guy was a high traitor to King Richard and England, and she didn't root out that he would go down together with the sheriff as their ship would be wrecked by a violent storm after the king's inevitable return. Yet, Marian saw some good in Guy and didn't want him dead, but when she watched him carry out the sheriff's despicable orders, a fierce resentment superseded all her other feelings for the man. Today, during the siege, Gisborne had proved that he could be brave and strong, but one act of courage didn't excuse him for all of his other evil deeds.

Robin jumped to his feet. "What did you answer, Marian?" he repeated his question. There was agitation in his voice, as if he were hurt and scared of something.

Marian glanced back at him. "Robin, what do you think I should have responded to him? Should I have married him and abandoned you forever?" she spoke in a tight voice, vaguely insulted by his unspoken accusation. "What do you think?"

"So many words, my love," he chided her. "And no response to what I asked."

Marian would have felt better if he went about grinning and laughing about something foolish when if he questioned her behavior towards Gisborne. "Of course, I didn't agree, Robin." She arched a brow, grinning insolently. "Or should I have accepted his proposal?"

"Definitely not," he said, scowling at her. "And I cannot understand why you are smiling, Marian."

She got to her feet, her hands clenched by her sides. "And why not, Robin?"

"For many reasons!" Robin threw up his hands in frustration mingled with exasperation. "Gisborne is evil and dangerous! He is continuing his attempts to win your heart! He still hopes that one day you will fall in love with him, and he will marry you! He can take you away from me!"

It was her turn to be frustrated. "Robin, will you stop being jealous?"

"I am not jealous," he protested. He stepped closer to her and took one of her hands in his. "But I mean to keep saying these things again and again. I don't want you to be so close to this traitor!"

As a beam of moonlight illuminated his face, she saw vulnerability, sensitivity, and, most of all, a genuine need for love in his eyes. "Robin, what are you afraid of?" she asked softly as she raised her hand to his face and swept her thumb over his cheekbone as if to wipe away a tear. "Tell me!"

He tensed under her touch. "Nothing."

Gazing into his eyes, Marian spoke in a silken voice. "Robin, you are such a fool! There is nobody in the whole world who can take me away from you!" She smiled brightly. "You are the only man whom I have ever wanted to marry. You are the only man I love! You are the love of my life!"

Marian threw her arms around Robin's neck and stared into his eyes if as if he were the only man in the world. And it was true – Robin was the love of her life and the man whom she had waited to return for more than five years. She was in love with him since the age of twelve, when she had first seen him in the castle during one of his visits to her father, the former Sheriff of Nottingham. When Robin had told her about his decision to join the Crusade and had offered her to have hasty nuptials before his departure, she had broken their betrothal and had slapped him hard across his face.

Marian had vowed to forget Robin. She had been trying hard to move on for five years, like a warrior stabbed on the battlefield but determined to stand until he dies; but she failed to carve him out of her own heart. Robin had remained the center of her world even during his absence. Her world had turned to ash when he had left her, and she had lived with glorious memories of him for so long. She had found strength to live because her father and the people needed her, but there was nothing real in the world but that thick and almost impenetrable darkness of reality in her life.

Every evening, she had prayed for Robin's survival in the solitude of her bedroom, and the ache of her tear-stained eyes that stared and stared into space, and the dreadful pain of her wounded heart – there had been nothing but a black void without him. Robin had returned on a wonderful spring day, and a sun had risen in Marian's life, shaped in the form of her love for him. She had known immediately when she had seen him and had targeted her from her bow that she still loved him, and that realization filled her with a feeling of heaven-gifted delight and happiness.

Marian loved Robin wholeheartedly and devotedly with the same innocent and pure love of her early youth, which was as beautiful as first flowers in springtime. Her love was also like some golden seed planted years ago and into her carnal desire: her innocent love flowered into a deeper form of love, and she found herself ready to lose her body in a chasmal ocean of their passion. And now she was feeling a strange yet delightful tightening form low in her belly.

Robin smiled at his fiancée with a slow and dazzling smile, and his face lit up like the brightest star in the night sky. "I love you too, Marian! You are _the only woman I have ever loved!"_ he proclaimed as his arms encircled her waist. "You are the only woman I have ever wanted to make my wife!"

She kissed him briefly on the lips. "And you may do it tonight," she whispered against his lips. "We have waited for so long to be together, but I don't want to wait any longer!"

Robin was quiet for a long moment, trying to read her thoughts, perhaps to reassure himself that he had understood her correctly. The moon came out of the cloud coverage, and the moonlight lit up the clearing with its brilliance, making everything around perfectly visible. Marian leaned into him and placed her hands on his waist as they continued to gaze unblinkingly at each another. An indescribable heat was building between them, and they could feel a tangible force storming their senses. Desire, like hot lava, flowed between them as they locked one another in a tight embrace.

He bent his head and kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back, her tongue dueling with his, her lips clinging to his like a drowning victim clings to a life preserver. Their ardent kisses were becoming more urgent, desperate, and possessive, like flowers springing forth in spring, turning towards the summer sun, and blossoming into a garden of pleasures in a snap of time. Never ever, not even in her wildest dreams, had Marian imagined that a woman could be kissed like this! He tasted delicious and powerfully male, a thought entered her mind, and she didn't want him to cease the kiss. As he lavished kisses on her throat, she moaned, enjoying the scratch of his stubble in the hollow of her neck.

"Marian," Robin murmured into her mouth. He released her lips and called her, "Marian…"

"Robin," she whispered, drawling his name, as if she were savoring the sound.

"Do you understand what you are doing to me, my love?" His voice was heavily laced with lust.

She felt herself blush beneath his lascivious gaze. "Yes," she murmured, although it was only half true. She knew only some basic things about an act of physical love as her maid, Sarah, had told her a lot about a woman's wifely duties while she had been preparing for her wedding night with Guy. But she was still a maid and wasn't skilled at seducing and pleasing men.

"Marian, I respect you and the memory of your father, but I am only a man."

Looking into Marian's eyes full of love for him, Robin found it increasingly difficult to control his emotions and actions. He loved Marian with his entire being, and his love was very deep and every bit as mysterious. He loved her with his old, pure and innocent love of his youth, and he loved her with a mature and lustful love of a young man disillusioned by holy war and the horrors he saw at home after his return. Their separation reshaped his already deep love for her, transforming it into a boundless, ecstatic, and deathless devotion for one another and making it a bright, incandescent flame of passion that had been only flickering upon his return and then had become hot and fierce.

Robin was an experienced man in the matters of physical love. In his early youth, before his first proposal to Marian, and while he had been away from England, he had had a large share of affairs, but he had never loved another woman. He was a passionate, skilled lover, and he had even formed a bond in the dimensions of passion with several women, but it was a pitiful bond that was so strong in bed yet so helpless in life. All of his encounters with other women were fruitful of physical passion, yet being so bitterly sterile, utterly despairing, and ghastly heart-breaking because there had never been an emotional attachment between him and any of his lovers. Marian was his true love!

Now Marian was in his arms, and there was a deep, sensitive bond between them that was holding them closer together. Robin loved Marian more than life itself, and he wanted and needed her more than he had even wanted any other woman. Yet, he was faintly apprehended through the dense veils of respect he had for her because Marian was not like other women – she was the love of his life and the woman whom he intended to marry and spend the rest of her life with. Could he take her tonight?

Goddess of carnal pleasure and passion watched, seduced, and encouraged them to act, and Robin was getting more and more enamored. The goddess learnt the wonderful story of Marian and Robin's love and its development, of how they had struggled to find a way back to each other after years of separation and heartbreak, of how they had reconciled and sailed into an ocean of uncertainty on their small boat in their quest for justice, and of how they didn't cast anchor yet near the shores of the empire where they could be happy in peace. Could they disembark from that boat just for one night?

Robin pulled her closer to him, and Marian felt his arousal, hard and insistent, press against her hips, at once intoxicating, exciting, and a little frightening because they were about to land on some unknown territory of pleasures and lust entwined. The voice of decency in the back of her head whispered to her to ignore the sweet tension coiling low in her abdomen and the thickening in her blood that was like a fire, a flame consuming her whole. However, the voice of her inner self and her heart delivered a different message – to surrender to the temptation of being with her beloved.

Marian stood in Robin's embrace, her mind cajoling hand-maidens of a maid's virtue – gentleness, reverence, love, and moral – not to condemn her for what she craved to do. It was the most exquisite moment of her whole life – she was alone with Robin, in the beautiful forest which was enticing and bewitching in the elfish beauty of the summer night, under the shining stars that covered the sky like a blanket. She couldn't let this moment pass like many others did, like a cloud swallowing up the sun in a daytime. The whole world might have turned upside down, but she and Robin would be together!

Looking into his eyes filled with love and devotion, she felt that she wanted him desperately, more than she needed to breathe, more than anything else in her life, as if she had entered a magical realm of some forbidden pleasures which she coveted to experience. Her love for him overwhelmed her to the core and was as boundless as the night sky, and her heart was palpitating with love for him so hard that it sounded like a drum. Her mind was set on the course of action.

"Robin, I want you to be my first and my last," she professed.

Robin drew back and backed off. Desire was swirling through him, shortening his breaths and fogging his senses. "I want you more than my next breath, Marian. But I must be sure that you do really want us to proceed. I won't take you as a husband takes his wife if you have any doubts."

Her thoughts in a whirl, she reflected on his words. She was elated and frightened at the same time, but all of her fears dissolved in a sea of passion. "I want this, handsome," she claimed.

"Sure?" he inquired again. His eyes were as dark with hunger as midnight without moon or stars.

Marian nodded vigorously. "Robin, we would have lost one another today if you had failed to find the sheriff and bring him back to Nottingham in time." She paused and took a sharp intake of breath as she stroked his cheek. "We could have died so many times, and we don't know what will happen tomorrow. We have been waiting for the king's return for many months, but I don't want to wait for longer. I want you to love me now, and I want to belong to you as a wife belongs to her husband."

Robin couldn't see a trace of doubt and hesitation in her beautiful, sparkling eyes. For a moment, he wondered whether he should proceed further and make her his in all ways; but she smiled at him enticingly, and he cast aside his doubts. Her smile always sent his heart racing like it would burst from his chest, but this smile of hers made him feel like he was at the edge of a cliff about to fall, like he was burning inside without touching her. She had already ignited a wild fire of vehement passion inside of him, and a boisterous river of desire was flowing through him.

Pulling her into his strong arms, he kissed her hungrily but quickly broke the kiss. "My love, you are right: danger surrounds us everywhere, and death might stalk us anytime." He kissed her lips lightly again, savoring their warmth and sweetness. "I prefer to die in your arms!"

Giving him a fond smile, she chided him, "Fool! You are not going to die!"

He chuckled, his eyes sparkling. "Definitely not tonight, my love. Though I cannot imagine a better death than death in your arms." His voice was slightly trembling with the force of his growing desire.

She traced his jaw line with her finger. "You seem to be displeased with what I offered."

"My love, I am happy!" He flashed a roguish grin that always melted her heart. "We are in our boat together, and we have already sailed from the shore – now you cannot run away from me. We cannot discover new oceans unless we have the courage to lose sight of the shore."

Marian laughed at him, noticing with wonder the blazing delight of anticipation in his blue eyes. "How romantic you have become, Robin!"

He winked at her. "Oh, yes! You have made me romantic and amorous!"

"Usually, you talk about a girl's chance to look into your soul when she looks into your eyes, but it seems that you invented a new drivel for the seduction of innocent maids!"

He smiled tenderly. "I have never seduced maids! You are the only maid in my life."

Marian sighed ruefully, and jealousy stirred in her heart. "But there were other women…"

Robin was decidedly embarrassed. "I am sorry. I was an idiot."

When she spoke, however, her voice was lighter than he expected. "I guess I have to accept that you couldn't be a chaste man during your long absence."

"Marian, I love only you! I was faithful to you when were betrothed. I haven't laid an eye on another woman since my return, and I will never look at someone else!"

Her heart leaped with joy. "I know, Robin."

His eyes darkened, and he kissed her passionately. "Your love," he said thickly. "I want your love!"

Her mischievous mood resurrecting, she met his demanding gaze and averred, "And I want yours!"

Their love proclamations echoed in the stillness, waves of sound rising in the air. For a short moment, they could hear birds twitter in the depths of the forest, singing their musical song, as if bells were pealing a new and wondrous song about Robin and Marian's love. Then all sounds hushed into a balmy silence that heightened their feelings of desire and passion.

Robin eyed Marian, wishing to have her naked in his arms and to ravish her with his mouth until she begged him for more. He helped her remove her velvet mantle and threw it on the grass, under a meadow. Ladies wore too many things, he mused with dissatisfaction. Yet, when his adroit hands started unlacing her gown from the back, his train of thought changed: a mere thought that another man might catch a fleeting glimpse of her treasures was enough to make Robin suddenly decide that it was good women had to wear so many clothes.

As he tugged her breasts free of the material, he made a quick perusal of them, enjoying the lovely sight of her proud and small bosom and fascinated by the sight of her skin gleaming white in the moonlight. Her long, glossy, dark hair tumbled in attractive disarray about her face and down across her breasts. As the cool night air touched her bare skin, she realized that she was naked; she deliberately covered her bosom from his gaze, but he removed her hands and shook his head. There was an air of innocence about her, stressed by the blush of her cheeks.

"Oh," she said in an entranced voice, charmed and embarrassed by the intimacy of the moment.

"Are you cold, my love?"

"No, I am fine." The heat from his body was just as hot as the fire in her heart.

He wrapped a long strand of her hair around his finger. "You may still change your mind."

She blushed more profusely under his scrupulous gaze, weighting over her options – to stop him or to continue what they had started. After all, she herself wanted to be with him, and she didn't want him to stop. "I haven't changed my mind, Robin. But if you hesitate because of your fears and insecurities, then you may stop right now," she attempted to jest.

Robin laughed merrily. "My fears and insecurities! My lady, you have such a rich imagination!"

"Then go on, Robin." A warm, sweet ache was quickly building in the pit of her stomach.

Looking into her eyes, Robin murmured, "Your father was right: you and I are dreamers. And tonight these dreamers find their way to be together, although their punishment will be that they will see the dawn before the rest of the world." He sighed moodily. "Then they will have to part."

"But we have this night," she remarked hoarsely.

He nuzzled her neck and kissed her bare shoulder. "Yes, my love." His lips went up, and he sucked the lobe of one ear into his mouth. "I shall behave as if we were married. I should have become your husband a long time ago. And I will consider as truly wed after this night."

She moaned in pleasure, and tilted her head, giving him more access to her neck. "Truly married," she drawled. "And our pledge to be together will be like the exchange of marriage vows."

Robin dotted a line of kisses along the curve of her throat while his hands continued unlacing the rest of her gown. _"I will love you forever and even longer_ , Marian of Knighton," he murmured in between kisses. "My vow is as sacred as marriage vows are eternal and unbreakable."

Marian gasped as he began to kiss her chin, then again descending to her neck _. "I will love you until doomsday, Robin of Locksley and even longer,"_ she pledged in delight when he gave her another one of those kisses which held so much promise.

Robin smiled to himself as Marian's gown fell to her feet, and she was left only in her chemise. In a few moments, his hands stripped her of her undergarments and tossed them aside. He took a step back and studied her closely, feeling a new wave of powerful desire rush through him.

He had always known that Marian is a magnificent woman, and now, in her glorious nakedness, Marian looked beautiful, arrestingly beautiful and well-formed, her curves rounded in right places and developed to the most voluptuous symmetry. Her waist was small and tapering, and her whole body was slender and graceful. In the pale light of the moon, her skin appeared pale and flawless, and it shone silver, bright silver. Her tall, queenly stature and her entrancing eyes could take any men under her spell. She was a perfect image of the goddess of love and purity, and, in the dark moonlit woodland, she looked like a forest nymph descended from one of the many ancient Saxon legends.

"You are so beautiful," he said in a lust-infested voice, his eyes wandering over her body.

"You make me embarrassed," she admitted.

He rewarded her with a mischievous smile. "You will be more embarrassed in a few moments."

Robin began to undress with eager impatience to get rid of all the clothing that prevented them from having a skin-to-skin contact. He unbuttoned his jerkin and threw it away; then he did the same with his shirt. She watched him with interest as he unlaced his breeches and slid them over his hips.

Marian took a step to him, and he made a step to her. The moonlight fell on him from behind, and his lithe frame looked a little white while his sandy hair and his handsome face were shining. But she was close to him and could see him very well as he stood unadorned before her.

He was lean and muscular, and his lithe frame was an embodiment of a mature man's strength. He had a dusting of light brown hair on his chest, where she could also see a collection of scars, permanent and painful reminders of the years of his loyal service to King Richard in the Holy Land. Her heart skipped a beat as she lingered her gaze on his ugly, puckered scar marking the flesh on his left side; he could have died during Gisborne's raid on the king's camp, and yet, ironically, this wound had brought him back to her. She couldn't tear her eyes from him, her gaze moving over his superb, slightly sun-darkened body with a hunger that would have shamed her if she hadn't been so entwined in a web of his male charm.

Robin gathered her into his arms. "You shouldn't be embarrassed or frightened, my love." He lifted her hand and pressed it to his lips. A playful smirk crossing his attractive features, he added audaciously, "It is not the night air that I have a mind to enjoy with your permission." His voice trailed off, the blue eyes darkened by desire moving salaciously over her face and stopping on her lips. "My imagination functions much better when I don't speak."

Marian chuckled. "Oh?" she said innocently. "And when does it function better? Will I find these circumstances advantageous to me?"

Brushing his lips against her mouth, he teased back, "If you are very nice to me, I will make sure that they will be advantageous to both of us."

"Prove your talents to me, Robin Hood." She gave him a provocative smile.

Her welcoming smile only intensified his desire, and he engulfed her into the warm and loving shelter of his arms. For a moment, he stared into her eyes, smiling at her tenderly as he noticed her lower lip trembling to give away her shyness and nervousness, although he couldn't see any sign of hesitation in her eyes. He captured her lips with his, and at the first tease of his tongue against her lips, she parted them, welcoming the intrusion and joining her tongue with his in a heated battle.

Marian and Robin continued kissing passionately and hungrily like two long lost lovers for a long time. The clouds parted, and a full moon hung over the forest. They were both naked, cast in a halo of the silver moonlight that lit up the clearing to a luminous brightness. The woods stretched all around them, bathed in the moonlight; here and there dark shadows fell on the ground from the trees that faintly reflected the moonlight. There was a perfect and blissful stillness in the woods, and they could heart only birds twittering in a distance, as if they were singing songs about their love.

Robin placed Marian on her mantle strewn on the ground. He positioned himself above her, rested his weight on his elbows, and her face, looking into her eyes. She kissed him and wrapped her arms around his back, as if her life depended on upon being so close to him. His dexterous hands caressed and stroked, fondled and tantalized her body, and she was writhing in his arms, moaning in pleasure and whispering his name. Robin could feel that she was ready for the consummation, and he wanted to take immediate, greedy advantage of that, but cautioned himself against doing that and told himself to go slowly. He wanted to give her as much pleasure as he could.

"You are the most beautiful woman in the world," Robin assessed his beloved as he inched his way down to her breasts, propped himself up on his elbows, and covered them with his hands. He thought that they nestled into his palms as if they belonged there. "You are my Marian!"

"You are very handsome too." She moaned when he released her breast and cupped her buttock instead.

He smirked. "Oh, I know."

She ran her hands across the broad expanse of his bare back, appreciating the firmness of his muscles. "Robin, I need you," she pleaded with him to finish the torture.

"Patience, my love," he responded as he began to suck at her breast with a grunt.

Robin feasted upon her warm body, caressing, kissing, licking, nibbling, and suckling until she began to writhe in pleasure again and he had to grip her firmly by one slim hip to still her movements against him. His hands and arms felt as if they were everywhere, in each and every part of her body: they were touching her breasts, her belly, and her hips, then caressing her back, his mouth drinking the nectar of love from hers, and the next moment they were sliding hotly down her throat before returning to capture her lips once more. Majestic sensations she had only half dreamed and had never imagined coursed up through her, and she felt as if she were soaring in a heavenly realm.

Marian tangled her fingers into his tousled hair as he kissed his way down her neck to her breast. "Robin," she entreated. She hankered to drown in the current of desire that raged between them.

"Yes, my love." He was close to losing control, but he wanted to elongate the sensual torture.

Marian glided her hands down his smooth back to his waist, and he made a sound between a growl and a groan. "Archery and swordplay are definitely not your only talents, my heroic outlaw."

"My naked freedom-fighter, you will be very skilled at this art soon," he commented in prophetic tones. He pressed his face between her breasts, breathing in her unique aroma.

Robin kissed her breast, and Marian whimpered in pleasure. It was almost too much to bear, and he lifted himself up, positioning himself above her. Looking into her eyes, he kissed her on the lips, and she kissed him back while he slid his hand between her legs. The ardent, possessive, and prurient kiss went on and on and on, and a thick languor of dark oblivion stole over them. That kiss was like heaven, glory, and touch of something divine, like falling into a surreal, splendid fantasy.

She spoke his name into his mouth, her voice thick and shaking with the force of her need, and Robin felt the last of his control snap. "It will hurt, but only a little and only once."

Marian grinned wickedly. "I trust you know what you are doing, Robin Hood."

He was trembling, torn between embarrassment and excitement. He deciphered her hint on him being more experienced, and that made him blush. "I have to confess that I am a little nervous. I hope this makes you happy and satisfied, the Nightwatchman."

"This makes us even," she chaffed him. The slow smile with which at first he received her banter made her grin at him.

"No, not yet," he contradicted. "But soon."

Robin kissed her and lifted her slightly as she instinctively raised her hips to him. As she clamped her slender legs around him as if to keep him from escaping, he began to slowly ease into her and then took her maidenhead with one swift but careful thrust, filling her completely and making her his with all the love and reverence he felt for her. He tried to be peculiarly gentle, hoping that he hadn't caused her too much pain. The tight, hot feel of her made him groan, and his lips absorbed her cry of pain.

Robin paused inside of her and didn't move, looking worriedly into her large and dazed eyes. "How are you, my love?" he spoke in a concerned voice. "I am sorry for causing you pain."

Marian smiled airily. "Robin, you say that you can look into my soul. What do you see?"

"Love and passion." His heart swelled with joy.

She stretched out a finger and poked him in the cheek. "Grow up!"

An understanding smile on his face, he supplied proudly, "Love and passion and happiness, right?"

"Yes, Robin!" Her face glowing and her eyes dancing with imps of mischief, she continued with an odd shyness, "I have never been as happy as I am feeling right now!"

"I will never let you down again," he swore fiercely, feeling a new tide of desire sweep over him like a stormy wave splashes onto the shore – the shore where the boat of their love had cast anchor. "You are mine, and I will make certain that you are always aware of how much I love you." His mouth found hers, and, feverish with need and delirious with desire, she sank into his kiss.

Marian felt indescribably happy, delighted, and complete, as happy as she had never felt before, not even when Robin had proposed to her twice. Robin felt blissfully and utterly happy as well, happier than he had been in years, thinking that this night was God's most precious gift to him. They had finally become one, a husband and his wife in all but name, and that majestic knowledge was flowing through them in the same manner as their love was pulsating through their beings.

Robin began to slowly move inside of her, thrusting carefully and gently, as if he feared she would break like an expensive, antique vase. No longer feeling pain and discomfort, Marian made a tentative movement beneath him, her hips meeting his slow, gentle strokes. She cupped his face, devouring his mouth, her hands raking over his bare back. As the dance of love continued and their tongues entangled and wrestled for superiority, every inch of her clinging body encouraged him not to temper his thrusts, and he heard her appeal, transforming them into hard, deep, and nearly feverish pounds.

They tasted each other's sensual wilderness as love and desire flowed through them in widening waves. He moved faster and faster, and soon she was caught up in a whirlpool of the most wonderful emotions that were spinning in a dizzy blur. The way her body seemed to drink of his and her of his, the way they reacted to each other's caresses, the way their moans and breathings mingled, and even the way her nails grazed the skin of his back magnified the intensity of their pleasure that was like ambrosia to them, that nectar of the gods they could drink but never get enough. Bright flashes of light went through their heads, crossing and crisscrossing their minds; and Robin felt her release grip her, plunging deeper inside and shuddering from the force of his own. The pleasure was so immense, intense, and strong that they were feeling like birds flying straight across the sky with no end in sight.

Robin collapsed onto her and buried his face into her shoulder. He announced in an amorous voice, his lips brushing her sweaty skin, "I have never felt more alive than I am feeling now, Marian."

Marian was tenderly stroking a thick mass of sandy hair on his head. "And so am I, Robin." She began to stroke his back again and murmured in regret when he slipped free of her body.

Robin rolled off of her and enveloped her in his arms. He smiled at the lingering flush of pleasure on her face. "Our hearts are racing like hummingbird's wings beating against its ribs."

"New clumsy metaphors of love?" She wasn't really surprised to this from him.

Grinning at her sheepishly, he lightly kissed her shoulder. "You complain that I am pedaling my old drivels. And so I have made up some new speeches."

She kissed him on the tip of his nose. "I will complain more because I love your drivels!"

A smug smile curved his lips. "I have always known that! My drivels are too charming to dislike them!"

She smirked. "One day I will teach you a lesson, Robin of Locksley!"

"I am in anticipation of this, my love!"

"You should be, my outlaw!"

Robin took her face between his palms and looked at her as if he longed to see into her very soul. "Stay with me in the woods, Marian!" he beseeched, his eyes frantic and gleaming in the moonlight. "I don't want you to return to the castle! I cannot protect you there!"

"You know that green doesn't suit me, Robin," she made a lame attempt to joke. But then she grew serious and spoke firmly. "First things first: I can do more for the king and the cause in the castle. And I can protect you better then." Her main reason for her staying in the castle was the protection of Robin from Vaisey and Guy who slept and dreamt of his death.

He dropped his head and sighed. "I know, my love. Just promise me to be careful."

She raised his chin and made him look at her. "I will be careful. Don't worry about me."

Marian flashed an irradiant smile, and he blinked at the sheer bewitching charm of it. With infinite tenderness, he caressed her cheek, and his lips brushed over hers lightly. As the heat of their bodies began to die down, they felt the night cold seep into their skin and bones like water through rock. Robin pressed her more tightly to his chest to keep some fading warmth, but Marian nodded at him, and he caught the direction of her gaze – she was staring at the heap of their clothes.

She looked up at the sky, where the moon had dipped behind the trees, throwing their branches into shadows against the glowing dark sky. "I need to return to the castle," she said contritely.

"I know," he replied with resignation.

Marian extricated herself from his tender grasp and rose to her feet. "We need to dress." She took her undergarments and began to hastily put them on, her body slightly shaking in the cold.

Releasing a sorrowful sigh, Robin stood up. "Yes," he consented as he picked up his trousers and pulled them on. "I will accompany you to Nottingham. You cannot walk alone in the darkness."

"I won't object, even though I know the way very well." She slipped into her gown and started to lace it from the back. Seeing that Robin had donned his clothes, she asked him to help with the lacing.

In a few minutes, Marian and Robin stood completely dressed, peering at each other in the bleak light of the moon that shone through the crowns of trees. After the consummation of their love, a deep and awesome connection formed between them – a spiritual sense of oneness. They were earthly lovers, but there was a warmth and strength of affection between them unknown to most of the human beings. The essence of their love was more than a delightful gift won by each of them and more than an exquisite combination of loving bodies and minds – it was an unearthly feeling.

Robin closed the distance between them and hugged her affectionately. "The love in Sherwood under the starry sky is over, Marian?" His voice had a trace of regret.

She smiled sadly. "Just for a short time, my darling."

"I will enjoy the freedom of the woods alone while you will be back in the lion's den."

Marian clapped him jovially on the shoulder, trying to cheer him up. "I will be always thinking of you, Robin. You stole my heart, and I stole yours: you need your heart, and I need mine, and so we will always come back to each other." She smiled timidly. "I will miss you more than ever, handsome."

His twinkling eyes meeting hers mockingly, he retorted, "My love, if I feel that my heart might stop beating without you, I will kidnap you from the castle!"

"One day I will leave with you, and we will finally be together forever. So far we are moving in the same direction, but we are taking different routes to our main purpose – the king's return."

"Yeah, at least we are moving in the same direction!"

She sighed in contentment. "Of course, we are!"

A frown marred his forehead. "Gisborne shouldn't give you the pleasure of his company anymore!" He pulled her close to him possessively. I don't want him to be anywhere near you, Marian!"

She frowned at him. "Gisborne's company is not a pleasure for me!" She sighed, thinking that she should say something else to pacify his foolish jealousy. "My heart has never been his, Robin!"

Her words and her manner elated Robin, and he again was certain that there would be a happy future for them together, unfortunately only after the king's return. "You are mine, Marian! Only mine!" he exclaimed in a high voice, his words echoing in the woods.

Her heart glowing with the fervor of their love, Marian said demurely, "And you are mine!" She grinned, trying to mimic his usual trademark grin. "Many girls want to be Robin Hood's sweethearts, but you must resist their advances. You are only mine!"

"You have your own Robin Hood! I am only yours and forever yours, my lady!" He smiled at her with his most charming smile that always disarmed all women. "You must be proud of being mine!"

Her heart fluttered like a thousand butterflies. "As arrogant and conceited as ever."

"As unwilling to resist my charms as ever," he teased.

"Careful, Robin," she said warningly, but she was grinning. "One day, you won't be able to ply me with your charms. You know that I am a woman who is not to be trifled with."

Robin laughed outright and raised her in the air, then spun around and placed her back on her feet. Staring into her beaming eyes, he asserted, "I know this very well, Marian. And for this I love you."

She drew a deep breath, a complacent light flickering in her eyes. "I love you too, Robin."

The moon peeked out between the branches in a halo of silvery light against the dark star-spangled sky, creating the loveliest sceneries in the sleeping woodland and a pale illumination of two silhouettes walking through the woods hand-in-hand. Their romance and love under the magic skies of Sherwood grew more complete tonight, and they were almost giddy with an unconquerable love of their newly acquired freedom, bathing in floods of living fire – the fire of their love and passion.

The love of Robin and Marian was a larger-than-life feeling and a more blissful wonder for them than the beauty of the greenwood, of the white moon among the stars, and of the mysterious waters in the River Trent. They were deeply, desperately, and unconditionally in love. The lovers couldn't tear their gazes from one another, their eyes were glowing, and they were savoring every moment of being together. Sherwood Forest was a safe haven for their great love and their shelter from the evil forces that were conspiring against them to stifle their enjoyment of life and suck the life-blood out of them.

At this moment of peace, love, and felicity, Marian and Robin couldn't foresee that in a few months, she would be taken to Acre as a prisoner with Vaisey and Guy and, in a ruined Arabic village, Robin would be barely able to save her from Gisborne, killing the leather-clad man in the very last moment before he could take her life. But now they were free from worries, fears, and presentiments, and the whole world was enshrouded in a haze of their passion and love sanctified by the union of two soulmates under the starry sky of Sherwood and by the glory of the moon and nature.

* * *

 _I hope that you liked this short story._

 _This is a one-shot for Robin and Marian fans and for Robin/Marian shippers. It is a very light and romantic story. I found this one-short on the weekend; it was written five years ago._

 _My headcanon is that Marian and Robin become lovers between the episodes "Lardner's Ring" and "Walkabout". In this story, Marian and Robin consummate their love and romance on the night after the siege of Nottingham by Prince John's troops when emotions overwhelm them. I tried to make Marian's first time with Robin romantic, sensitive, emotional, and of course with elements of teasing, portraying their feelings as a deep, pure, sincere, and great love – an epic love._

 _I mentioned in the end that Marian was saved from Guy by Robin. I just cannot bring myself to kill off Marian and make Robin deeply unhappy, so it is implied that she doesn't die in Acre._

 _Thank you for reading his story. I would be very grateful for reviews._

 _Your sincerely, Penelope Clemence_


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